Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir made a strong claim about Venkatesh Iyer and his future in ODI cricket. Venkatesh made his ODI debut against South Africa in the recently concluded series. Iyer couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity given to him.
He could just score 24 runs in 2 innings and went wicketless with the ball in the 2nd ODI. He was then dropped for the last ODI in Cape Town.
The Madhya Pradesh player has been acknowledged as a long-term alternative for all-rounder Hardik Pandya but has so far failed to exhibit his all-around abilities. He played as an opener in IPL and the Indian team is using him as a lower-middle order finisher.
The former Indian batter feels that Iyer is not mature enough to play in ODIs yet and should only be considered in T20 cricket.
“I feel he should only be considered for T20 cricket. Because he doesn’t have that level of maturity yet. He has been given an opportunity to play international level after watching him in only 7-8 IPL matches. If you are going by IPL performances, then play him in T20 cricket. ODI is a completely different ball game and a completely different beast,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
Iyer came into the limelight after his amazing batting performance in the second leg of IPL 2021, where he scored 370 runs in 10 matches and played a crucial role in KKR’s road to the finals.
Gambhir said that if Team India has considered him for ODIs then they should ask his IPL franchise to play him in the middle-order.
“Iyer had opened in IPL, now he is playing in the middle order. Send him back. If you are considering him for ODI cricket then tell his IPL franchise to play him in the middle order. But I feel he should be kept for T20s only, that too only as an opener if he plays at that position in IPL.”
